www.China-Defense.com

As an old "tanker toad" (4000+ flying hours as a navigator/instructor nav in the KC-135 and its variants) I've been curious about the H-6's performance as a tanker and suspect that the aircraft may have been underestimated in this role. Supporting this notion is the fact that models of the Tu-16 were the Russians' most numerous tanker for decades, and the RAF used the Victor (similar to the Tu-16 in size and performance) as its primary tanker until recently. Especially considering that the H-6 tankers are primarily intended to support fighters - specifically the J-8D - which require a relatively small offload, this aircraft may be more capable than first appears.

As mentioned above, the Chinese were not the first to convert this airframe to a tanker. The Russians did twice: first with the Tu-16Z, which was readily convertible back to the bombing role, and then with the Tu-16N. The Tu-16N tanker could carry 42,200 kg of fuel, almost 8 tonnes more than the normal load. To do this must have required either restressing the airframe or lightening it by some 5000 kg, since the stated gross takeoff weight is still 75,800 kg. I believe the Russians did the latter and the Chinese did something similar but less drastic, enough to allow for the H-6's fuel load to be increased by 4,000 kg - probably in a bomb bay tank - to the published total of 37,000 kg. This is a comparable load to that of the tanker versions of the C-130, which are very widely used in the small/medium tanker role in the West (including by the USAF and US Marines), also primarily to support smaller aircraft such as fighters. Comparing the two airplanes' performance, the C-130 is slower and operates at lower altitudes but has longer range due to its turboprop engines. The Chinese-built Y-8 has similar performance, and that China chose the H-6 instead suggests that they made a deliberate choice between speed/altitude and range. Why did they do this? It appears that they were looking for something to escort fighters - to serve more or less as a really BIG drop tank - and needed the tankers' performance to be as similar to the receivers' as possible.